Film

'Screenwriting is not an art form, it is a punishment from God. . . . I'm too much of a snob to be a screenwriter.'

-- Fran Lebowitz

David Mamet, John Guare, Beth Henley, Charles Fuller, Tom Stoppard, Velina Hasu Houston, John Patrick Shanley, David Henry Hwang, Marsha Norman, Jean-Claude van Itallie, Milcha Sanchez-Scott, David Rabe, Jeff Stetson, William Mastrosimone, Edit Villarreal, John Pielmeier, Mark Handley, Arthur Miller, Steven Metcalf, Herb Gardner, Israel Horovitz, Ernest Thompson, Michael Weller, Wallace Shawn, Ted Tally, Mark Medoff, Horton Foote, David Hare, Luis Valdez, Robert Schenkkan, Terrence McNally, Eduardo Machado, Christopher Hampton, Wendy Kesselman, Adam Sorkin, Craig Lucas, Sam Shepard, Harold Pinter, Jon Robin Baitz, Wendy Wasserstein, Paul Rudnick, August Wilson, David Rabe, John Osborne, Philip Kan Gotanda, Tony Kushner, Robert Schenkkan, Paula Vogel, Christopher Durang . . .

It's the wave of the future. And obviously the wave right now.

Film can be an exciting medium for a playwright. And a growing number of contemporary American playwrights have figured out how to live in both worlds. In England, they've been doing this for decades and their style of working both sides of the fence is finally becoming the norm in America.

The best recommendation: figure out how to write a stage play first and then mount your assault on the film industry.

• Screenwriting vs. Playwriting: Storytelling with images or words

• Realities of the Trade: Your role in the Hollywood machine

• Screenwriting Tips: Enough to see if you're serious about trying this

• Screenplay Format: Sample pages
  • Screenwriting Software: A quick guide to what's essential nowadays when you write for film and television -- and sometimes helpful for playwrights.

• The Hollywood Hustle: Doing something with your screenplay

• Screenplays to Read: A few of the best for when you're not writing

• What's Here: A Detailed Guide to This Unit